Cuarón on Context

"...the context is as important as the plot... the background as important as the foreground..."

Cuarón is a master at world-building, and for him, presenting the word is as important as the characters or the plot. "You create a universe that the character only traverses", he says while talking about Roma (2018).

So then it makes sense that he utilises those looooong dolly shots - that's a very effective way to set context and background.

Cuarón says that dolly shots that move forward and backward are too subjective, that there's nothing more objective than long takes...

In a long take, a wide angle shot, you are neither prioritising the surroundings or the character. The context is as important, if not more, than the character. The character is sort of flowing through the context, so you have to get everything very right. 

In the following clip from Y Tu Mamá También, I was so taken by how he sets a larger social context. From around 03:35 into the clip, the camera follows a server at the wedding. I think you need to have your eyes wide open to reality to be able to present things this way, to not flinch away from showing things as they are, and have restraint to do so without any judgment.

You can watch Alfonso Cuarón talking about his films here, and read my spark notes from the making of Roma here.